SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Town holding paid union leave in check

By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
   While a state report last week issued a scathing assessment of how some union officials take large amounts of leave to conduct business while on the public time clock, the local situation seems controlled.
   The report by the state’s Investigation Commission found many union officials spending little time doing their actual jobs, but collecting from 50 to 100 percent of the pay.
   ”Although it is not uncommon, nor is it necessarily improper, for government employers to grant some form of time off for union work, the Commission found significant and questionable variations in how such leave is authorized, who qualifies for it, who keeps track of it, how it is constituted and who ultimately pays the bill,” the report states. “The Commission found examples in which all or a portion of the salaries of such individuals — some in the six-figure range — and/or health benefits and pension contributions are covered by public funds with no reimbursement by union organizations.”
   The commission found that taxpayers footed an almost $30 million bill in union leave during the period of 2006-11, according to the report.
   According to the report, the commission looked at various public sector unions throughout the state and found little uniformity in how the organizations or towns dealt with the issue. In some cases, the union repaid a percentage of the salaries and benefits, and in others, taxpayers paid the entire bill without getting the work from the person that they were hired for.
   Locally, however, the municipality and school district seem to have a pretty tight grip on how much time members of the various labor unions may spend conducting workers’ business while on the taxpayers’ clock.
   ”We’ve done what we’re supposed to be doing,” school district Human Relations Director Richard Chromey said Wednesday.
   Mr. Chromey said that only one official from a union uses any time paid for by the public to perform his labor duties.
   South Brunswick High School teacher and teacher’s union President Christopher Hines is allowed to spend one “duty” period every other day to work on union business, according to Mr. Chromey.
   The duty period is a period at the school where teachers provide non-instructional support, such as monitoring the halls or presiding over a study hall, Mr. Chromey said. Mr. Hines is also allowed up to five days a year to work on union matters while collecting his normal salary, Mr. Chromey said.
   ”It is like sick or personal days,” Mr. Chromey said.
   In order to use those days, Mr. Hines must get approval from Superintendent Dr. Gary McCartney at least a week in advance, according to Mr. Chromey.
   Township Financial Officer Joe Monzo said that union members, mostly officers, are granted a limited amount of time as union leave.
   ”It is negotiated in the contracts,” Mr. Monzo said.
   While the terms are different for each of the unions in the township, Mr. Monzo said that the time granted for such leave is minimal compared to some of the other towns.
   ”Most of what they do (for the union) is done after hours,” Mr. Monzo said. “We have nothing like some of these other towns (in the report).”
   Mr. Monzo said the township has not calculated how much union leave costs, but did not believe that it was not a significant amount.